Cellular Materials in Nature and Medicine

Describing the structure and mechanics of a wide range of natural materials with a honeycomb- or foam-like structure (e.g. wood, cork, trabecular bone and coral), this book shows how models for cellular materials can be applied in medicine, such as metal foams in orthopedics and porous scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Bringing to life the fascinating structures and unique mechanics of natural and biomedical cellular materials, this book is an expert guide to the subject for graduates and researchers. Arranged in three parts, it begins with a review of the mechanical properties of nature''s building blocks (structural proteins, polysaccharides and minerals) and the mechanics of cellular materials. Part II then describes a wide range of cellular materials in nature: honeycomb-like materials such as wood and cork; foam-like materials including trabecular bone, plant parenchyma, coral and sponge; and composites of cellular and dense materials such as iris leaves, skulls, palm, bamboo, animal quills and plant stems. Images convey the structural similarities of different materials, whilst color property charts provide mechanical data. Part III discusses biomedical applications of cellular materials: metal foams for orthopedic applications and porous scaffolds for regenerating tissues, including the effect of scaffold properties on cell behavior.